A type of particle accelerator that uses a changing magnetic field to accelerate electrons to very high speeds, producing intense X-rays or gamma rays for research and medical use.
From 'beta' (referring to beta rays/electrons) + '-tron' (suffix from 'electron,' used in physics for particle-accelerating machines like 'cyclotron' and 'synchrotron'). Invented in the 1940s and named by its developers.
The betatron was one of the first machines to harness pure physics for practical power—it could generate X-rays so intense they changed medicine and nuclear research, and its name became a template for dozens of other '-tron' machines.
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